I Wander Alone, I Don't Stand Alone
by Drew Ike Treboot
Summary: Nathan Carver, just a normal nineteen year old boy, suddenly had his life in the Vault ripped away from him. He now has to find his father and survive in one of the harshest environments imaginable. The barren hell known as the Capital Wasteland. His goal is not to kill, his goal is not to win, his goal is not to explore. His goal is to survive. What is his motivation? (rated M)


**I've been addicted to this game lately. I love it so much, I couldn't help but write a story about it. The title comes from one of my favorite characters, Three Dog. He's just so funny and awesome. Mr. Vault 101 is what he calls you throughout the entire game on his radio station. I might change it. Still not sure yet. Do me a favor and leave an idea for a title in the reviews.**

**As always, please favorite, follow, and review or send me a PM. I love hearing what you guys have to say. Let's begin shall we?**

_"Nathan Carver. That's a name that takes me back. The kid is a jack of all trades. He's a doctor, an engineer, a soldier, a scientist, and a hell o__f a lot more. Who would have guessed that some random kid who crawled out of Vault 101 would have such a massive impact on the Wastes. He's an interesting person. Now, where should I start?... What? How do I know him? Well… I'd rather leave that… as a mystery."_

* * *

_"Nathan! Stop that, it tickles!"_

_"Maybe I don't want to…"_

_"Nathan… What are you?"_

_"Just kiss me… Amata, I love you."_

_"Nathan…"_

_"Amata…"_

* * *

Nathan Carver, a nineteen year old resident of Vault 101, was sleeping soundly in his room. He was dreaming a dream he was hoping that he was wishing that he would never wake up from.

Sadly, that wish would not come true.

He was woken up by the sound of someone shaking him and yelling. After several seconds of blurry vision and muffled hearing, he was finally able to make out what the person in front of him was saying.

"Wake up! Come on, wake up!"

As his vision cleared, Nathan saw that the person trying to wake him up was none other than the woman he had been dreaming about, Amata Almodovar. "Come on, you've got to wake up!"

Nathan slowly sat up and looked at her. She had an expression of pure fear and concern on her face. "Huh? What's wrong, Amata?"

She put her hands on his shoulders, looking him dead in the eyes, and said, "You've got to get out of here! Your dad is gone and my father's men are looking for you!"

He leaned toward her, confused. "What do you mean, my dad is _gone_?"

Amata stood from her spot beside his bed and began pacing in front of him. "He's left the Vault! I don't know how, but he's gone, and my father… he's gone kind of crazy!"

Nathan stood from his seat on the bed and walked up to her. He stood in front of her pacing and put his hands on her shoulders, giving her a look of pure concern. "I've never seen you so scared, Amata. What's happened?"

Tears began welling up in her eyes. " It's Jonas… they _killed_ him! My father's men. They took him, and… Oh my God, you have to leave, _now_!"

His eyes went wide, in shock at what she had told him, and he pulled his friend into a hug. "Oh my God… Are you okay?"

She returned his hug and nodded, pressing her face into his shoulder. "Yeah. Don't worry about me. I'm just sorry you had to find out like this. I know Jonas was your friend. But we've got to go, _now_! My father's men will be here any minute!"

Nathan pulled away from her embrace and ran his hands over his recently shaved head. "My dad can't have left. The door is sealed shut."

Amata shook her head. "Not anymore, apparently. But… Are you honestly telling me that you had no idea your dad was leaving? He really didn't tell you?"

He shook his head quickly, trying to suppress the tears forming in his eyes. "No, I had no idea he was planning to leave…"

She covered her mouth and gasped. She then walked up to him and gave him a comforting hug. "Oh. I'm so sorry. I'm sure he had his reasons. Maybe Jonas was supposed to explain everything to you? But it doesn't matter. _I _can help you escape. I have my own plan!"

Nathan pulled away from her, lightly gripping her arms, staring at her in shock. "Escape the Vault? How?"

Amata handed him a handful of bobby pins and said, "Listen. There 's a secret tunnel that leads directly from my father's office to the exit. You'll have to hack the computer in his office to open it. Use these to get into his office. That's how I always get in."

He accepted the pins and nodded at her. "Sounds like a plan. Let's get out of here!"

Nathan began walking toward the room's exit, only for Amata to grab his jumpsuit's sleeve, stopping him. She then handed him the last thing he was expecting. A gun. "Oh, and one more thing. I stole my father's pistol. I hope you won't need it, but you'd better take it just in case."

He hesitantly accepted the gun and nodded. "Thanks, Amata. I'll only use it as a last resort, I promise."

She smiled at him and said, "Good. I'll try to meet you at the exit. Watch out for security. Good luck!"

Nathan then watched as his friend ran out of the room, leaving him alone. He looked down at the gun in his hand and swallowed hard. He had always been a bit of a gun nut, always studying, reading about, and working with guns, but he had never actually had to use one that shot _real_ bullets before. It made him nervous.

He snapped himself out of his state, pulled his duffel bag out from under his bed, and began packing his things. He grabbed all of his clothes, comics, his BB gun, his textbooks, manuals, and books, and finally, his baseball bat.

As he left his room, Nathan tucked the 10mm pistol that Amata had given him into his belt and armed himself with his bat.

As soon as he left his family's part of the Vault and entered the hallway, he heard someone yell, "Hey, you, stop!"

Nathan looked to his right to see Officer Kendall pointing at him, a police baton in his opposite hand. Around him were several dead Radroaches. He approached Nathan with a scowl on his face. "There you are, you little punk. You are coming with me right no-"

He cut the security officer off by swinging his baseball bat at him and connecting it with his head. The hit sent Officer Kendall to the floor, unconscious. "Sorry, Mr. Kendall." He then dragged the unconscious man into his room, where he'd be safe.

Before leaving him, he took Kendall's helmet , baton, and Kevlar vest. He dressed himself in the gear and proceeded down the hall. Just as he was about to turn into the next hallway, a familiar voice shouted, "Wait up!"

Nathan looked to his left to see the Vault's resident bully, Butch DeLoria. "What do you want, Butch? In case you haven't noticed, I'm a little busy at the moment…"

Nathan then noticed the panic and fear on Butch's face. "You gotta help me! My mom's trapped in there with the Radroaches!"

Nathan didn't like Butch, but he wasn't about to leave an innocent person to die. "Come on. Let's go see if we can help her."

He began walking toward the DeLorias' quarters when Butch said, as he followed him, "No, I can't go back in there. It's… it's dark, and there's Radroaches."

Nathan couldn't believe his ears. Butch, who had always made fun of him, called him names, and hit him, was afraid of the dark. He sighed heavily and nodded at the cowardly man. "Don't worry, Butch. I'll get your mom out of there."

Butch smiled at him. "Oh my God, thank you! I didn't know what to do. You're the best!"

Nathan thought to himself as he entered the Butch's home, _"I can't believe I'm actually helping this asshole. Damn you, morals…"_

He quickly rushed into the DeLoria residence, hearing loud shout of pain. "OW! GET OFF ME!"

Nathan ran into the room to see Butch's mother being attacked by a trio of Radroaches. Without thinking, he raised his bat high and brought it down on the body of the roach closest to him. Next, he swung the bat like a golf club, sending the roach to his left flying against the wall.

The last Radroach, angry about its comrades being smashed, jumped at him. Nathan took his batting stance and whispered, "Batter up…" He swung the bat as hard as he could at the roach, crushing its body and sending it flying.

Nathan then turned his attention to Mrs. DeLoria. He slowly helped her up and brought her to one of the chairs in the next room, sitting her down. In all the commotion, he hadn't even noticed that she'd lost consciousness.

Butch then ran up behind him, shouting, "We did it! My mom's gonna be okay! You're the best friend I've ever had, man!"

He turned to Butch and shook his head. "I was about to let someone die."

Butch then took off his leather jacket, his treasured Tunnel Snakes jacket, and handed it to him. "Hey, I know it isn't much, but I want you to have my Tunnel Snakes jacket. Go ahead, take it."

Nathan smiled at the bully and nodded. "Take care of yourself Butch. I can't believe that I'm going to miss you."

With that, he left Butch to care for his mother.

* * *

As he made his way down the hall, he heard the familiar sound of Radroaches skittering about. He looked to see that they were in the diner. All of them around the body of one of the Vault residents, Grandma Taylor.

Nathan walked in and quickly hit each of the roaches with a blow from his bat. He looked down at Old Lady Taylor and frowned. "Rest in peace…"

He quickly ran out of the diner and continued down the hall. He made his way up the staircase at the end of the hall and turned right, only to see Officer Gomez approaching him. Behind him, Andy was burning Radroaches with his flamethrower, and "whistling" a happy tune as he did so.

Gomez walked up to him and said, "You're lucky that it was me who found you. The others won't be so forgiving. I don't know what you're up to and I don't wanna know. Just clear out of here and I'll pretend like I never saw you."

Nathan smiled at him. "Thanks, Officer Gomez. I always liked you…"

Gomez sighed heavily. "It's a real shame it's me to this. I can't believe what they did to Jonas… Officer Mack was out of control… But, you're a good kid. You didn't do anything to deserve this. Go and find your dad, if you can."

With that, the officer walked away. Nathan quietly said, "Thank you…"

Nathan then made his way into the Atrium.


End file.
